Self control

How about a new thread about self control, as it seems we have beaten the calories in/calories out vs good calories/bad calories into the ground for the time being. I promise to be un-troll-like in the new thread. No insults, inflammatory remarks here! Whether one thinks it is about how much one eats vs how much one exercises, or one believes what you eat is what counts, the issue of self control always comes back. If I am in a daily routine where my exercise happens at the same time, and my meals come from the same grocery list or store, I do well and lose weight. As soon as there is a variation to the routine, things go badly. Holiday parties, house guests, alcohol served, boredom, stress, family visits, loneliness, you name it and I fall out of the straight and narrow, start eating erratically and start regaining weight. And according to what I have read, this is the typical experience for most people. What can be done about it? How can temptation be consistently resisted and moderation maintained? I don't think it is possible to exercise much more than I do, so burning it all off doesn't seem likely.

Our minds can work differently but what I've found for myself is that practicing moderation has been much easier than avoidance. Avoiding a fast food burger all week long is kind of like a kid trying to avoid the Halloween candy on top of the fridge until the weekend. When he finally does get it, he stuffs himself silly. When I used to have a cheat day once a week, I would not just stop at a burger, I would have a whole meal with ice cream and then continue to eat all day. This would put me into a large surplus which would essentially erase almost a whole week of deficits. Now, I simply work treats into my daily calories. I also practice intermittent fasting which makes it sooo much easier.

Interesting ideas. So eat less than one needs as a general routine, knowing that one will fall off the wagon anyways? Or fall off a little every day? Exercise makes me hungry. Under-eating as a rule, or fasting seems difficult, given the 3-5 mile a day run. What I want is a kind of self-hypnosis that lets me stand outside the moment to remember my goals instead of letting go as soon as the social situation changes, or my old drinking pals drift into sight.

Interesting ideas. So eat less than one needs as a general routine, knowing that one will fall off the wagon anyways? Or fall off a little every day? Exercise makes me hungry. Under-eating as a rule, or fasting seems difficult, given the 3-5 mile a day run. What I want is a kind of self-hypnosis that lets me stand outside the moment to remember my goals instead of letting go as soon as the social situation changes, or my old drinking pals drift into sight.

If you know you will fail, you will fail. You have to eat less calories than your daily burn is or will not lose weight. I have a friend who is losing at a steady pace and he makes room in his calories for a six pack at least 3 times a week. Fit the food into your daily calorie allotment.

for me I needed outside reinforcment to keep up my self control. losing weight and having people notice made me more mindful not to mess up. i craved the compliments on how much i was losing. then i gained a few back, and since i'm not morbidly obese anymore, it doesn't fall off at a rate of 12-18#s per month. no compliments, no self control? just a new guess as to part of my failure the past 1.5 years.

I think it is all about self-control. Whether it is diet or exercise related, my mind always seems to try and take the easy option. For a while, my mind would tell me I couldn't run for an hour straight, so I motivated myself and eventually I overcame those thoughts and I can now run for an hour continuously. Same goes with eating- I was a massive overeater and I put on a lot of weight as a result. Now, I changed what and how much of the food i eat. Lost 16 kg in 16 weeks.

To me, the thought about losing weight is dead simple. Less calories in than out. That's it. End of story. We all know it. Sure, you can refine, but it is what it is. The HARD part for us, and the reason we are here, is to control it. For me, it has lately helped a LOT to understand what is going on. When I have emotional hunger, I know that it is simply that. And when you know that it is emotional hunger and not physical hunger, it's a lot easier to ignore it. It's a lot easier to come to terms with it and shush it away. I use tapping on a regular basis. I have posted about this a few times in the forum (use search!) and mentioned it in my journal. It works. It helps. I can clearly - CLEARLY - see a difference when I use this knowledge and when I don't.

"Losing weight is never about eating as little as possible"- Kingkeld."You wouldn't worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.― Eleanor Roosevelt"Do. Or do not. There is no trying."- Master Yoda.

I went from morbidly obese to being the owner of TABDIG - a weight loss coaching service that helps people worldwide losing weight. It's been an amazing journey. From October 4th 2010 to April 3rd 2012 I lost half my body weight - 80 kilos/170 lbs. Since then, I have had two cosmetic surgeries to remove excess skin. I have now quadrupled my strength, gained several kilos in muscle mass, and today I focus on building muscle, optimizing my diet, living healthy and helping people to reach the very same goals. I am stronger, healthier, thinner, happier! If you feel that you need help losing weight, don't hesitate to send me an inbox message.

For me I had to remove all temptations from the house. I was never good at moderation when it came to chocolate....now I'm better but so close to my goal I'm not going to risk it. I'm lucky that my husband doesn't have a sweet tooth and is willing to either eat those things when he's at work or wait until I am asleep before raiding a secret stash somewhere. When you open the cupboard or pantry out of boredom or emotional hunger, the pause as you don't see the typical treats in front of you lets me think through my hunger. Is it real? Did I really not eat enough at my last meal? Where am I on my calorie intake for the day?...did I go too low for my exercise burn?...etc. At least once a week ...usually on the weekend...we go out as a family and I have a celebration meal (appetizer, dinner, dessert and a glass of wine)...no second helpings but I enjoy it. That's usually enough to keep me sane. Since we ate out...no leftovers staring me in the face the next day. Now that it is winter here, I'll be damned if I am going to suit up a one year old and a soon to be 3 year old just to go find some ice cream or a snickers. As I am trying to teach them good eating habits too...I just don't keep it in the house and don't intend to. It is easier for me to have self control when the target of my craving is 2 miles away.

I don't keep my trigger foods like pop or chips in the house at all anymore.

I do have a "cheat" every once in a while...but I'm quite happy on my restrictive diet. I like knowing what I'm having for breakfast,lunch and afternoon snack, as well as what my choices are for dinner ahead of time. I dont crave anything more than I want to be healthy.

I have 3 Christmas parties this month. One is breakfast where I will bring my own...one is lunch where I can order off the menu, and dinner will be 8 oz of meat with no oil or additives to the meat and plain steamed veggies..(I can add my own garlic flavoured olive oil for taste)

Planning ahead will get me through, I am eating this way to benefit myself not anyone else, so if they have a problem with it...thats their problem, not mine.

I believe exercise is crucial to weight loss. Muscle mass burns calories much more efficiently and the more muscle mass you have the better the furnace. You can't out train a bad diet but you can push ...